So they laid broomsticks across their doors at night and sprinkled salt on porch steps. evidence of superstitions; both counter-measures are believed, by some people, to ward off evil.
big Daughter Elk an important member of the ladies' auxiliary of the Elks, a men's fraternal order.
bid whist a card game similar to bridge.
pariah anyone despised or rejected by others; a social outcast.
postcoital after sexual intercourse.
meal-fried porgies A porgy is a fish; meal-fried means that the fish is fried with a cornmeal coating in hot lard.
Jell-Well a gelatin dessert.
Old Dutch Cleanser a widely sold household cleanser in the 1930s.
Tillie the Toiler a popular comic strip character.
bottles of milk At that time, milk was delivered to homes in bottles with paper lids and left on doorsteps. Ajax steals the bottles of milk that he gives to Sula from a white family's doorstep.
working roots using roots and rites from the occult to gain mystical powers.
conjure woman one who deals in the "spirit" world, or the occult, and works with roots to render spells.
Van Van, High John the Conqueror, Little John to Chew, Devil's Shoe String, Chinese Wash, Mustard Seed and the Nine Herbs These are all ingredients used by conjurers to create spells and tell fortunes.
catarrh inflammation of the mucous membranes, especially of the nose or throat.
chamois a soft leather made from the hide of the chamois, a goat-like antelope native to Europe's mountainous regions.
alabaster Originally, alabaster was a marble used by craftsmen to create beautifully lustered statues; today, alabaster is a granular form of the mineral gypsum, a colorless, white, or yellow mineral. White alabaster is the most highly prized.
marcelling irons irons used to create a hairstyle consisting of a series of even waves put in the hair with a hot curling iron.
loam a rich mixture of moist soil, clay, and sand.
